Yesterday, one of the most hotly anticipated stamp collections was revealed for the New Year by Royal Mail. Yes, you read that correctly – hot stamp collection! The release could be classified as hot because of the subject of the stamps and who unveiled them. The stamps feature the top ten most iconic album covers of the last 40 years and Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page unveiled them.

The Classic Album Covers collection features the front cover of instantly recognisable albums but has another quirk that we do not necessarily expect of stamps, thus making them that little bit more special. A disc is emerging from the cover, resting outside of the stamp. Apparently, the collection has music and stamp fans alike excited because of the fact that they are recognising 40 years of such an excellent British music tradition.

So which albums are being featured in this stamp collection?

“Let It Bleed” by The Rolling Stones (1969) is the first album cover and was designed by Robert Brownjohn. The design is actually not what you would expect with the name of the album because it was designed with the alternative title of “Automatic Changer” in mind. It also features a cake baked by the unknown Delia Smith.

Led Zeppelin’s “IV” (1971) is the second cover to be featured. It does not mention that band at all and features a painting found by Robert Plant in a junk shop. It’s the painting of the faggot-bearing man that attracts most attention and is arguably the reason why it is so iconic.

“London Calling” by The Clash (1979) is the third iconic album and is in the list as a result of it featuring one of the greatest pieces of rock photography ever. Taken by Pennie Smith, the shot of Paul Simonon will undoubtedly go down in history as such.

The other iconic covers are David Bowie’s “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” (1972), Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” (1973), New Order’s “Power, Corruption And Lies” (1983), Primal Scream’s “Screamadelica” (1991), Pink Floyd’s “The Division Bell” (1994), Blur’s “Parklife” (1994) and Coldplay’s “A Rush Of Blood To The Head” (2002).